Grace Packer's death shows why Pa. needs child protection ombudsman

Grace Packer was 14 when she was killed in 2016 by her adoptive mother and step-father, according to Bucks County authorities who filed homicide and other charges against the couple this year.

Grace Packer was 14 when she was killed in 2016 by her adoptive mother and step-father, according to Bucks County authorities who filed homicide and other charges against the couple this year.

(HANDOUT / THE MORNING CALL)

The Morning Call's reporting on the consequential decisions made by child welfare agencies on behalf of Grace Packer, who was exposed to sexual violence multiple times in her short life, is a powerful reminder that Pennsylvania has waited too long to create an independent child protection ombudsman.

Positive outcomes occur for many children receiving child welfare services. Still, not all outcomes are positive, and consistently the voices of abused children can be disregarded or silenced.

Pennsylvania has no neutral party empowered to review or rework decisions affecting a child's safety or placement in foster care or residential placement. Unheeded warnings or systematic shortcomings affect not just the individual child but also the collective community of children.

State policymakers have long been urged to create an independent ombudsman. This advocacy preceded and followed grievous acts of violence or injustices committed against children — events that placed Pennsylvania in the national spotlight.

Still, momentum has never been on the side of abused children like Grace. Pennsylvania policymakers are considering how to reimagine the delivery of critical health and human services. Creating a child protection ombudsman is one promising and needed solution.